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Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Keep Alderman Tom Hoffay in your thoughts and prayers. The second ward Alderman was hospitalized on Friday and is going to have minor heart surgery in Albany. We wish Tom a speedy recovery, the great Second ward misses him.

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Despite what Alderman Cahill claims, I did not cheat on the mayor's poll. The former Alderman will tell you as he told me that there is no way to cheat. He knows as someone that uses blogger you can only vote once per computer, he was the one that informed me of that.

Clearly both Jim Noble supporters and Rich Cahill supporters sent mass e-mails having all their friends vote. Which is fine, the poll is for fun and is not scientific. Mr. Cahill obviously takes it a little too serious.

For the record, I like Jim Noble he is a friend and would easily support him for mayor but in this poll I voted once for Alderwoman Jen Fuentes (WF-5)

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Happy Thanksgiving! Putting all the petty nonsense that is talked about on this blog day in and day out, I have been really blessed and have a lot to be thankful for! 2010 has been a really great year thus far. I would also like to express my thanks to all of my readers (all 4 of them). Thank you all and have a great thanksgiving.

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

I ran into local developer Steve Aaron in Uptown Kingston today and he took some exception to a post I had done a month or so regarding a fundraiser for Governor-elect Andrew Cuomo he had held in Saugerties. The details of our conversation are between him and I but pretty much he felt the post was taken out of context. I respect Mr. Aaron for coming up to me and addressing it with me directly. I feel very strongly that if you are going to write about someone or their business you should be prepared to man up and give them your time and I did. I feel what I wrote was factually accurate, (although maybe some of the comments were not and I apologize I do not write the comments).

I bring this up because our Republican counterpart moJoe Roberti, who is the blog administrator of Ulster MoJoe, is a coward. I confronted him at the GOP convention awhile back about the crazy posts he has written and continues to write about Elliott Auerbach and Mike Hein and he ran away like a child.

moJOE Roberti has a post now that says Elliott Auerbach won because of " Andrew Cuomo's huge coattails." Let me give Roberti a little lesson about this election stuff, a win by five thousand votes in a county wide election in Ulster is not a coattail victory It's the people of Ulster County reelecting their comptroller. Roberti writes on his blog this detailed analysis like he's some political expert..he made predictions and analysis on eight races this year, he got two correct. (maybe three depending on the outcome of the Skartados race, which is looking good for Kirwin.) By contrast I predicted thirteen and missed two of them.

Fact of the matter is I have forgotten more about politics than Joe Roberti will ever know, he should leave the commentary to someone that knows what they are talking about and continue to sit home alone and make his photo shopped pictures of animals having sex in the background of one of Hein's press conferences, which is more suited for his intellect level.

Roberti also made some sny remarks about WFP, saying the party is "claiming they won Row D" as if they are making it up. I got news for you moJOE, wfp is not just claiming they have Row D, they are proudly screaming it from the rooftops!! As a matter of fact besides the wfp being the margin of victory in both the AG and Comptroller's races, they had a VERY strong showing in Ulster County! Look at the difference in the numbers from the 2006 governor's race and in 2010 in Ulster County :

2006

Independence 3401Conservative 2393Working Families 1881

2010

Conservative 3588Working Families 3058Independence 2363

That's a huge jump and we should all be proud! In upstate New York, wfp is strong but in nyc, they are unstoppable. If you get the WFP endorsement in nyc, nine times out of 10, you will get elected. Last year wfp candidates took the Democratic primaries( which in nyc is pretty much the election ) for NYC Comptroller, Public Advocate, and dozens of local council races...beating the establishment candidates. People are sick of politics as usual and know that the WFP line represents a way for them to vote their values and hold politicians accountable to their campaign promises.

Thursday, November 18, 2010

The Ulster County budget does not contain a tax increase..that's right none...ZERO! The consultants hired by the legislature to go over Hein's budget called it Conservative and fiscally sound. Even Chairman Wadnola said that overall he felt the budget was a good one.

Enter Kevin Roberts (some may know Kevin Roberts, he's the creeper on those tv commercials with the long hair and the teenage girls throwing money at him while he tries to convince people he is the guy you want in your home, working on your roof..) Robert's also brought us the mosque resolution and chairs the committee that oversees the scandal ridden Resource Recovery Agency.

As many know Comptroller Auerbach shined a light on the Resource Recovery Agency and pointed out this agency has major issues that need to be addressed. Elliott Auerbach was correct, the agency had to fire its director, records were destroyed and sexual harassment charges by employees are stacking up.

Kevin Roberts poo pooed Auerbachs's report at the time calling it election year “posturing” and a waste of Auerbach’s annual salary. HERE IS THE QUOTE I LIKE: Roberts described the Resource Recovery Agency as one of the “best-run departments in the county” and disputed contentions that it is supposed to be self-sufficient.

Anyway it should come as no surprise that Roberts who looks like a complete fool now wants some payback. Roberts is taking his frustrations out on Auerbach by leading the effort to cut the Deputy Comptroller's position from the budget. As well as reduce the amount of legal research the office has from 72k to 22k. Let me get this straight, the guy that thinks the RRA is one of the best run depts in Ulster county wants to cut legal research on preventing fraud and abuse..got it.At the end of the day this is all about Roberts' political payback against Auerbach. In a budget the size of Ulster County cutting the deputy comptroller which is what 60 something thousand, is not going to do anything. The comptroller's office is run on a shoe string as it is, Auerbach has 8 staff members..no cuts were proposed from the clerks office or any other department that have a lot more staff.

I urge legislators both Democrat and Republican to fight against this. Shame on Kevin Roberts for using his position as a legislator to try and get his revenge on Elliott. Kinda pathetic Kevin and a waste of your annual salary as a legislator!

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Eric Dinallo will serve on the Schneiderman transition team, and is the only former candidate to be asked.

Pleased to see my friends Richard Aborn and Eric Dinallo were both appointed to Attorney General Eric Schneiderman's transition team!!

AG-elect Eric Schneiderman announced his transition team today, tapping a diverse group of legal minds – including one of his Democratic primary opponents, Eric Dinallo – to help guide him as he prepares to take over from departing AG/Governor-elect Andrew Cuomo.

Schneiderman picked three honorary co-chairs, including former AG Bob Abrams, who was a key surrogate for Schneiderman during the campaign on the abortion-rights issue (along with NARAL’s Kelli Conlin, who’s also serving on one of the transition committees).

Joining Abrams are Zachary Carter, former US attorney for the Eastern District (1993-1999), who is now in private practice at Dorsey and Whitney; and Westchester County DA Janet DiFiore, a Republican-turned-Democrat who has been mentioned herself as a potential statewide contender some day.

The committee will be chaired by Harlan Levy, a partner at Boies Schiller & Flexner who co-chaired the Special Victims Committee for Manhattan DA Cyrus Vance Jr.’s transition last year.

There are three transition team directors: Former US Attorney for the Northern District (1999-2001) Daniel French, Julissa Reynoso, deputy assistant secretary for Central America and the Caribbean, Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs at the Department of State; and Avi Schick, former deputy AG under Eliot Spitzer.

Some other names on various committees that stick out on the list, which appears in full after the jump:

Friday, November 12, 2010

"The Working Families Party, once derided as a rag-tag collection of Brooklyn progressives, is now the pre-eminent political force in New York City politics"

-NY Times

I was on the subway late Thursday night reading the Post and I came across a letter to the editor by New Paltz's GOP Chair Butch Dener. Seeing it in print made my night, good for you Butch. The letter was defending President Bush and taking a shot at Matt Lahuer over the way he interviewed Bush. Just so happens I caught that interview the other morning at 7am too! I actually remember thinking to myself how fair they were to Bush. So,I respectfully disagree with Mr. Dener on his analysis of the interview. ;)

Will someone tell George Phillips the race is over! Congressman Hinchey has won reelection. Do the right thing and concede.

LINE WAR: It looks like the NYS Conservative party will end up on row C, thanks to Carl Paladino's tea party supporters, the party has gained enough votes to surpass the Independence party. On a bigger note, it also is looking good that the WFP will move to Row D, becoming the 4th biggest party in NYS!! Working Families is ahead of the Independence party, which likely will drop to Row E. Ulster County pulled in a huge amount of votes on the WFP line!!! Thanks to everyone that voted WFP, you voted your values and made your voice count and it certainly has made a difference.

An independent consulting firm hired by the Republican controlled legislature to examine the budget has issued a report giving it the thumbs up! Democrat Mike Hein has got to feel good about that. Congrats Mr. Exec.

TURF WAR- Det. Tim Matthews takes issue with a press release issued by D.A. Carnright. Last week many of you know that a welfare scam was uncovered at the Sunocco on Broadway, three ringleaders were arrested and the people that participated are also now under investigation. However, there is some discrepancy on who started the investigation which lead to this scam being shutdown, the KPD and county both are taking credit. Social Services director (who has gotta know his days are numbered) Roberto Rodriguez claims it was his department that discovered the scam which DA Carnright seemed to confirm:

Carnright said in a press release on Tuesday that the “investigation was begun through information developed by the Ulster County Department of Social Services’ Special Investigations Unit and has been a joint effort between that department, the Kingston Police Department and the Ulster County District Attorney’s Office.”

Matthews said the claim that the county started the investigation “was absolutely, 100 percent not true, contrary to what anybody in county government says.”Zing! Just another example of DA Carnright not with the program. No question in my mind that Detective Matthews is right on this and I challenge anyone to prove otherwise. The KPD detective and top cop to URGENT has no reason to lie nor would he.

Sunday, November 07, 2010

Taking a small break from the blog, spent a lot of time on elections and trying to provide the best info and commentary to the great people that come on this blog. Spending some time with some friends and relaxing. The blog will resume as of next Monday. Thanks guys!